Ten Sleep Rock Ranch — Hotel in Ten Sleep

The Ten Sleep Rock Ranch is lovely. The location is close to town and minutes from the crag. The ranch provides a scenic atmosphere, clean and accessible campsites and cabins, clean bathrooms, a small kitchen, showers, two fridges and free WiFi. I love the relaxing river that flows through the campground. Plus, Louie is a lovely host. He's friendly, welcoming and spent time with our group to show us the area as a personal guide.

As for the people who are complaining about climbing ethics and bombarding The Rock Ranch with one-star reviews (many of which are copy-pasted), here's my take. First, my credentials to comment on this matter: I've bolted and cleaned five routes in Northern Arizona. I understand the physically demanding work, financial expense, difficult choices and angry internet trolls that come with the job. Because of this experience, I also know most climbers won't get to establish routes (nonetheless new crags) and don't understand the process bolting and cleaning routes requires.

I've also climbed plenty of Louie's routes. He cleaned routes by comfortizing razor-sharp pockets, reefing off loose (deadly) choss, reinforcing crucial holds with epoxy, and removing plenty of dirt, mud and grime from the climbs. This is standard practice by any good route setter, nationwide. It prevents climbers, belayers and passersby from getting injured on climbs. Plus, by not shredding your fingers and shoes on razor-sharp limestone (which is a nightmare to clean), you're getting a better-quality climbing experience. On this type of rock, you're not going to find a four or five-star climb that isn't properly cleaned.

It's true some of Louie's routes were "manufactured" with drilled pockets back in 2017 and early 2018. But Ten Sleep (and Wyoming as a whole, especially Wild Iris) has a long, drama-filled past of pocket drilling. If you're going to complain about manufactured holds, at least be consistent. Much of Ten Sleep's crags are in violation, and it's not just one person who played with...

Really exceptional location and camp run by an awesome pair of climbers. It really is luxurious to have WiFi, showers, toilets and sinks. The grounds are well kept and the ever growing deck space is an awesome place to spend a rest day. I know many climbers, myself included, who stay for the entire summer/fall season.

However:

1 single sink in a place with hundreds of climbers is a pretty wild concept. Another sink would be really nice. (UPDATE: there's two sinks now and it's a HUGE upgrade)

More importantly though: Quiet Hours at 10PM is stupid. Climbers cover a wide variety of lifestyles from the weekend warriors, to the remote gigs, and the absolute dirtbags. It's a busy campground, often crammed full, and it's next to a highway. Not to mention that the outdoors is just a noisy place in general.

If a little noise keeps you up at night--wear ear plugs or deal with it. Forcing silent hours on everyone to accommodate the few workers stamps down on the evening social culture in favor of those who often are just visiting anyway. In recent experience, being quiet simply wasn't enough. Those who would complain to management expected absolute silence. This isn't a children's summer camp and having a hard curfew for all feels like a poor solution. I understand having quiet hours to mean "no loud partying" but it shouldn't mean "you literally can't make a noise or the weekenders will complain". Maybe a better policy would be "sometimes it's loud. It's a campground. Grow up, wear ear plugs, or...

The Ten Sleep Rock Ranch is very conveniently situated in Ten Sleep Canyon if you're intent on doing some climbing.

The campsites are well-spaced and fairly well-maintained; the parking spots are clearly marked, and there's a good amount of space at each site to set up. There's a picnic bench and fire pit at each campsite.

The amenities are nice as well; there are convenient toilets (though there are occasionally queues), and showers on site ($2). There's also a sink for washing dishes and a set of refrigerators with drawers where you can store perishables.

The atmosphere is pretty quiet and relaxed, and the setting is beautiful. The cost is very, very reasonable as well; overall, I highly recommend it.

Note: My review does not comment on recent controversies regarding the owner's route development in Ten Sleep Canyon, just the facilities themselves. There's ample commentary available on this for climbers to evaluate for themselves, in greater detail than I could...